Boudreau, GM sound off on series’ poor officiating
PITTSBURGH – Thursday was an off day for the Capitals. It was a time to rest and recover from the disappointing 3-2 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins the night before.
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But while the team didn’t hold an on-ice practice there still was plenty of work to be done in preparation for a pivotal Game 4 on Friday night.
The most important task, apparently, was getting the message across that the officiating in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series has been subpar.
Both Caps general manager George McPhee and coach Bruce Boudreau were adamant that the referees have given far too much leeway to the Penguins. Both have spoken to the supervisor of officials for the series, Terry Gregson, about their concerns.
The biggest? That no one is protecting rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov, who so far this postseason has been punched in the mask, crosschecked in the jaw and — on Wednesday — run over by Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin. The last transgression was the most egregious, according to Boudreau, because Varlamov was the one assessed a slashing penalty as Malkin skated away.
“The supervisor in this series is as good as they come. Terry Gregson is terrific,” McPhee said. “But if the referees aren’t going to listen to him then what good is he? We’ve asked them to protect our goaltender and they’re not.”
Pittsburgh has been awarded 17 power plays so far to Washington’s nine. The Caps have been called for 19 penalties to the Penguins’ 11. But it is the nature of the calls as much as the number that have members of the organization bristling.
“It’s a real hard game to referee,” McPhee said. “We understand that. But it can’t be seven [penalties] to two in a playoff game.”
Given all the intrigue, it’s easy to forget that the Caps still lead the series 2-1. But things can change quickly with a rare set of back-to-back games on Friday in Pittsburgh and then Saturday night back at Verizon Center. That stretch of three games in four nights is why Washington preferred team meetings and video review to an on-ice session at the Penguins’ practice facility in Canonsburg, Pa. — a 30-minute bus ride from the team’s downtown hotel.
“The pressure right now is a little bit on us. We have to play way better than we did the last game,” said Caps forward Tomas Fleischmann. “It’s going to be a huge game [Friday]. If we win the momentum is going to be on our side again.”
